Waldo Canyon Wildfire Approaching Air Force Academy Airfield
June 27th, 2012 - 11:22 am
That’s the control tower near the middle of the screen. Remember though that a telephoto view compresses distance. So my best guess is that the fire is still more than a mile out. Here’s the close in view from Weather Underground, which shows at least two miles distance — but that was an hour or more ago.
Stay tuned.
Stay safe.
Now we know where’s Waldo.
More like 3 or 4 miles. Maybe more. But still too close. The airfield is right next to 24, right?
No. I-25. 24 is South and runs E-W
Todays playlist will include Nilssons “Jump into the fire”.
Actually, there’s quite a distance between where the fire is at its closest point and the Air Force Academy airfield. There’s also several natural firebreaks between the two. From Peregrine Estates to the airfield is about five miles. About half of that is open grassland. There’s also a 4-lane highway, a creek, and a rail line in between. I’m really worried about Pine Valley housing area, which is closer – about a mile and a half or two miles. BTW, I live in the Springs, I’m retired Air Force, I attended the Academy for a year, and I visit the Academy regularly. I’d hate to lose any part of it.
As a Central Texan who was here for last year’s Bastrop Fire, I respect how scary wildfires are. Be safe, dude. Y’all are in my thoughts and prayers.
Wildfires dont follow rules, thats why they are called “wildfires”. While they dont follow rules, the two things to watch are the winds and the humidity. First, the AWOS( automated weather) at KAFF shows that the winds are gusting. This is almost certainly due to the updrafts caused by the fire, which gives you some indication as to the size of the fire itself. The good news ( if there is any) is the winds seem to be moving away from the canyons and into the lower elevations. If the winds reverse and drive the fire into the canyons, it the fire will move up the canyons in a very big hurry and that is where people and animals have a hard time getting out of the way. So it may not seem like it, but the fire moving down is better than the alternative.
Second, there is some growing thunderstom activity in the area. Once the humidity drops and lightning starts, the original fire is just the oldest of the fire activity rather than the only fire.
I hate to be the bringer of really bad news Steve, but the White House has just announced that the President will be in Colorado Springs on Friday. According to my religious upbringing, that means you can pencil in the plague of frogs for Saturday and the locusts for the following Sunday.